Track type tractors are one type of machine that utilize an idler recoil system in order to better allow the tracks of the machine to interact with variable loads encountered when the machine is being maneuvered over the ground. A typical track system may include a forward idler that is supported in a track roller frame assembly about which the track is mounted. The track typically includes a series of shoes that contact the ground on one side, and an inner track chain that is driven to rotate to propel the machine in a travel direction. The idler may typically be supported by a yoke that may slide fore and aft within the track roller frame in order to react to various loads that are transmitted from the track to the idler. The yoke in turn acts upon a spring that is compressed when the idler and yoke are pushed into the track roller frame assembly. The spring then recoils back on the yoke and the idler to return both toward their undisturbed operating configuration.
Because tracked machines often work in extremely hostile environments that may include mud, sand, rocks, soil and a wide variety of other debris, there is often a risk of debris entering the track roller frame and eventually undermining operation of the recoil system and/or otherwise damaging the machine. Free flowing debris generally enters the lower moving undercarriage of a tracked machine at the track frame ends when the machine is turning, or between the track rollers due to a sloped surface operation. In one specific example, long exposure to mud can become caked or bricked inside the track roller frame inhibiting the ability of the recoil system to respond to various loads on the track, undermining machine operation and potentially leading to failure. In another example, rocks digested into the track roller frame may lead to fracture or breakage of track components, idlers, rollers and a variety of other components associated with the recoil system. Debris can often build up on the top of a track roller frame by either being carried to the top side of the track shoes and dropped onto the track roller frame top, or by being deposited on top of the track roller frame from track frames submerged in debris.
Over the years, engineers have devised a long list of guarding strategies intended to inhibit digestion of debris into the track roller frame of a tracked machine. In fact, guarding strategies date as far back as 1928, where the model Twenty Caterpillar track type tractor included guarding surfaces and skirting intended to inhibit the digestion of debris into its track roller frame assembly. From that time forward, virtually every manufacturer of tracked machines has included some guarding strategy to inhibit digestion of debris into their respective track roller frames. Many of these guard designs are particular to the specific track structure and other machine geometry features that are not easily transferable to different designs. Thus, a guarding strategy for one machine may be totally ineffective and inappropriate for a different machine design. With every new design, new guarding strategies must be devised in order to specifically address the needs and geometry of each new design.
The present disclosure is directed toward problems associated with guarding against ingestion of debris into a track roller frame.